The group, which had a fortnight ago given the Federal Government Wednesday, February 17, 2016 as deadline to meet their demands, in statement signed yesterday by leaders of

five different associations that make up the group said: “In view of the failure of the present Federal Government to accede to our demands, JOHESU and AHPA at their joint meeting held on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at the Medical Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) Secretariat in Abuja have resolved to give a 15-day ultimatum beginning from February 3, 2016.

“It is our hope and desire that the Federal Government would take necessary steps to ensure that our demands are met on or before Wednesday, February 17, 2016 in order to forestall the impending avoidable industrial action.”

Meanwhile, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), a member of AHPA, Ahmed I. Yakasai, has urged the Federal Government to prevent the strike even as he called for 15 per cent of the national budget to be allocated to the health sector as well as full implementation of the National Health Act with provision for the one per cent of the consolidated national fund, which is about N60 billion.

Yakasai told The Guardian: “I hope the government will not allow this to degenerate into a strike because the vulnerable, especially the patients, will pay for it. If you have money to fly out, the downtrodden, the masses, cannot afford that. So, the government has to do something quickly to prevent that kind of thing from happening.

“We have said it is 3.65 per cent but we thought that the one per cent of the consolidated revenue will be reflected in the budget. Do not forget that even the minister said that the budget submitted was not really the actual budget. So, they will go back to the drawing board and come back.

“We hope that probably the N60 billion from the one per cent consolidated fund will be reflected. If we really want to improve Primary Health Care (PHC), that one per cent must be there.

The Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II 90th birthday is on April 21 and ahead of the celebration she has posed for a portrait photo with her great-grand children- Prince George and Charlotte.

The photo was taken on Monday at Windsor Castle where Her Majesty will be when her birthday comes around, and Buckingham Palace is expected to announce public engagements in the Windsor area on the 21st and possibly the 20th.